Young people walk with a banner past the U.S. Capitol during the annual March for Life in Washington Jan. 25. The pro-life demonstration marks the anniversary of the 1973 Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion across the nation. (CNS photo/Bob Roller) (Jan. 25, 2012)

WASHINGTON, D.C.  In the beginning, Nellie Gray imagined there would be a
need for one march for life. It was a
year after the Roe v Wade
decision, and there was perhaps just enough outrage that people felt a
legislative remedy could be attained.

“But then we realized that Congress wasn’t going to help, so we had a
second,” Gray reflected.

And a third, and a fourth…

On Friday, January 25th, the 2013 March for Life marked the 40th anniversary of Roe
v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton, which struck down most abortion laws in the United
States. It was the first March for Life without Gray, who died last August at
the age of 88. But for those who knew her and worked with her, and for
thousands of people who have been to the annual event in the past, her spirit
was everywhere.

The story of her initial naiveté was revealed in a moving video tribute to
the attorney-turned-activist, which was broadcast on large jumbotrons for the
hundreds of thousands of pro-lifers gathered on the National Mall. Jeanne
Monahan, the new leader of the march, and others extolled Gray’s dedication,
perseverance and spunk, and a younger generation  which made up perhaps 90% of
the rally and marchseemed by their enthusiasm more than ready and willing to
take up her mantle.

Gabrielle Hoekstra, for example, attending the march for the first time,
finds that more and more young people are becoming more pro-life  or at least
are open to listening to pro-life ideas.

“It’s something I feel very passionate about,” said Hoekstra, a junior
studying aeronautical science at Embry Riddle Aeronautical University in
Daytona Beach, Fla. “When I was younger my parents were active in local crisis
pregnancy centers. When you go to college you realize there are a lot of people
out there who are prochoice, and it’s important to stand in your values and
have the reasons to support them. Coming to places like this you can get
together with other people who share your values and educate yourself more so
you can defend your prolife position.”

She concluded, “I’m confident that in the next decade we’ll see a massive
shift not just for the pro-life movement but other values that the current
president opposes.”

The spirits of those standing in 20-something-degree weather under skies
that promised a snowy day in the nation’s capital were boosted by a roster of
speakers that included pro-life legislators, former presidential candidates,
activists, medical professionals, women who have become public witnesses to the
evil of abortion because they’ve suffered the consequences, rape victims, and
those conceived in rape.

“Thank you for being here in this frigid weather, to give a sense of warmth
in a city that is often too cold,” said former U.S. Senator and presidential
hopeful Rick Santorum, who stood at the rostrum with his wife, Karen, and
several of their seven children. “Thank you for providing warmth and a sense of
God’s love, for all his children.”

Santorum reflected on the struggle he and his family experienced having a
child who has Trisomy-18, a genetic disorder that leads to severe disabilities
and a short life expectancy. Bella, the Santorum’s toddler, had to be
hospitalized during a campaign for the Republican nomination in 2012, in which
Santorum was showing early leads. The girl’s illness forced the Santorums to temporarily
suspend their campaign.

The former Pennsylvania senator recalled that he and his wife had resisted
counsel to abort the child, after they learned of her condition in utero.
“Death is never better,” he said. “It may be easier for us. But Bella is better
for us, and we are better because of her.”

He told the crowd that as he found tremendous support from Americans during
the girl’s ordeal last year, the pro-life movement is “not a bunch of
moralizers, it’s people who open their arms in front of abortion clinics and
give voice to the voiceless.”

Congressman Christopher Smith of New Jersey, chairman of the
U.S. House of Representatives Pro-Life Caucus alluded to President
Obama’s inauguration speech earlier in the week, in which the re-elected
president said that “together, we resolve that a great nation must care
for the vulnerable…that all are created equal…and our journey is not
complete until all of our children…are cared for and cherished and
always safe from harm.”

“We indeed, Mr. President, must care for the
vulnerablebut that also includes unborn children and their mothers,”
Smith commented. “All people are created equal. And our journey is not complete until all
our childrenincluding the child in the wombare cared for and
cherished and always safe from harm. Yet, President Obama systematically
and aggressively promotes abortion at home and overseas.”

Other speakers included Congresswoman
Diane Black of Tennessee; Sen. Rand Paul; Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council, and Georgette Forney of Silent No More.

Cardinal Sean O’Malley, chairman of the U.S. Bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life
Activities, offered a prayer to begin the march. He was joined by a number of
Orthodox bishops, who separately sang a harmonious, traditional prayer for the
soul of Nellie Gray.

Cardinal O’Malley elicited strong applause when he read a tweet from Pope
Benedict XVI, addressed to marchers and expressing his solidarity with them.

Addressing marchers by video were John Boehner, Speaker of the U.S. House of
Representatives, and Congressman Dan Lipinski (D-Ill).

Two young people made particularly strong presentations. Ruben Verastegui,
president of Northwest Vista College Students for Life, urged young people to
“get out there and make change happen.” He counseled, “Sometimes it’s going to
feel like you’re alone on campus as a pro-lifer. But take a look around you
right now” to see that the pro-life movement is full of young people. “You are
not alone.”

Another young speaker was Ryan Bomberger, who was conceived in rape but was
saved from abortion by adoption.
Because of that, he’s begun TooManyAborted.com to promote adoption. “We
want to dedicate our lives to saving beautiful possibility,” he said. “Adoption
unleashes purpose.”

The rally and march drew upwards of 500,000 people, and it
took the average marcher two hours to walk from the National Mall, along
Constitution Avenue to the Supreme Court building. People prayed and sang along
the way or tried to start chants such as “Hey hey, ho ho, Roe v Wade has got to
go.” Signs and banners advertised what parishes and schools groups came from or
offered food for thought: “Kanye West is Pro-Life. Are You?” read one. “NICU
Nurses for Life,” read another.

Also on hand were pro-life groups from France, Ireland and
Italy. The March for Life in many ways is regarded the “mother march” of other
pro-life demonstrations in other countries.

The Italian pro-life organization Voglio Vivere (I want to
live), for example, held its first march for life in Rome last year, drawing
some 10,000 participants. Michaelangelo Gutierrez, head
of the group, said he’s come to the D.C. march every year for the past five
years to join in solidarity. This May 13, Voglio Vivere will hold its second
march.

Father Edward Connolly, pastor of St. Joseph parish and St. Vincent de Paul
parish in Girardville, Pa., has been coming to the march for “at least 35
years.” He said it was his 75th birthday, and “a wonderful way to
celebrate it.”

“I believe everyone who is pro-life will see God face to face,” he said.

Deacon George Sisson from Holy Family in Middletown, Md., noted that the
march “has gotten bigger and younger” over the years. He had just graduated
from law school in 1973 and recalls being “amazed that the Supreme Court in one
decision would wipe out all of the protections for the unborn…. Talk about a
radical, extremist decision!”

Kathy Hotze from St. Louis came because of the major
anniversary of Roe. In 1973, she was about to give birth to her son, so she was
not that attuned to the abortion debate. She became so a few years later, when
she tried to convince a relative not to abort her own child.

She said of the march “It’s so wonderful. It’s growing by
leaps and bounds, and the young people are taking over.”

About the Author

John Burger

John Burger is news editor of Aleteia.org.

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